Last year was the fastest fall in rate of trips made by Brits to foreign countries since the 1970s, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

It recorded 58.6 million trips in 2009, compared to 69 million in 2008, and says the fall was mirrored by foreign visitors to Britain too.

ONS says these figures are an aberration after years of steady growth both into and out of the UK. Visits abroad have grown by 4% on average per year in the past 25 years and visits to the UK have increased at 3.2% on average.

Business travel was the worst hit by a lowered level of travel. 23% less visits were made by UK residents abroad for business purposes in 2009 compared to the previous year. 19% fewer visits were made into the UK from abroad.

There was a drop of 15% in visits made from the UK abroad for holiday reasons and a drop of 6.5% for visiting friends and relatives.

For visitors to the UK, London remains the most popular city according to the ONS; this is followed by Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Bristol, Oxford and Cambridge.